


One Last Gift

by carvedwhalebones (fuckyeahlucifersupernatural)



Category: Dishonored (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 00:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7337398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckyeahlucifersupernatural/pseuds/carvedwhalebones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Outsider gives Corvo one last gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Last Gift

**Author's Note:**

> **[iinnerdialogue requested](http://innerdialogue.tumblr.com/):** The Outsider wooing Corvo with whales.
> 
> **Tumblr URL:** [carvedwhalebones](carvedwhalebones.tumblr.com)

_“My dear Corvo, this is for you.”_

Corvo has become more than acquainted with the ebb and flow of The Void, where it draws itself into his core and returns to the forefront of his skull, reminding the aging Lord Protector of waves. He knows, with great familiarity, when The Void is pressing itself closer to him, a premonition that he will be drawn into it. 

  Laying on his bed, absentmindedly rubbing at a stiffened wrist, he embraces the sensation of chilled fingers firmly pressing themselves into his ankles, calves, ribs, shoulders, and the sides of his head. They hold him in unison and he sinks. Sinks through mattress, falls through the stone flooring beneath the bed, the strong foundations underneath the Tower, and, then, The Void. He cuts through it all like a knife would butter, seamlessly transitioning into a gray reality. 

“You have aged well, as has Dunwall and Empress Emily,” a voice comments somewhere behind him. Corvo can’t explain the strange ache in his throat, but he does his best to chuckle. 

“We both know a part of that statement is not true,” Corvo manages to clear his throat, informing the empty, interminable space in front of him. 

A familiar figure slides into existence at the comment, pallid features looking nearly amused, chapped lips upturned just so. The Outsider looks the same, a constant throughout the years. He moves a hand, gesturing it towards Corvo. “While you are in your twilight years, when you are here, you will always be as how you perceive yourself to be. It has always been that way,” The Outsider remarks, Corvo looking upon his hand. His skin is smooth, old scars unseen, veins less prominent, and liver spots vanished. The Lord Protector rubs the back of his hand just to be certain.   

The ache in his throat feels thicker and constraining. 

“I’ve brought you into The Void to give you one last gift, Corvo. Will you accept it?” 

Corvo turns away from his hand to watch the empty space around him suddenly ripple with life. He watches an invisible pen spill ink on blue and pull the ink into a shape, twisting and writhing as it draws towers made of quartz, splattered cubes of pyrite lodged inside like swallowed lights. Polished whale bone stretches between the rising towers acting as a pathway, familiar carvings found on runes etched upon it. Corvo observes the recreation of Dunwall Tower, the familiar gazebo off to the far left, the garden to the right with it’s wide arrange of flowers. It all stands on suspended platforms, water spilling upward and downward from streams he cannot see.   

His home has all taken a touch of The Void with it, drawing breathless images of the surreal with the real. 

He can see the ink still imagining this new world off in the distance, still crafting as Corvo takes his first step forward. It’s strange to see grass crawl itself into existence across the path of whalebone. It feels real when he bends down to touch it, marveling as it shimmers from green to turquoise as he twirls a few blades between his fingers. 

He finds Jessamine’s grave where he remembers it and Emily’s old drawings, items he hasn't seen for decades, resting on the gazebo floor. There are colored pencils scattered about, as if a little girl just recently drawn them and ran off to play. Corvo can’t help but turn, as if looking for an image of a young Emily racing across the grass. He doesn’t find her.  

Corvo bends down to pick up the one on her drawings, trembling fingers tracing the image before him. He remembers this one. He remembers Emily coming to him and Jessamine with her new ideas of how whales should look and how when she’s Empress, she’ll ask all the whales to look as such. Corvo can’t stop the bubble of laughter that leaves him as he traces the obnoxious addition of wings to flippers in the shape of stars and crescent moons. His smile feels tight on his face as he sees Emily has drawn a whale for, even, Ms. Pilsen, both whale and doll adorned with an elaborate gown.

“Where did you find this?” his voice leaves him cracked and raw. He’s suddenly aware of the sensation of something wet curving its way down his chin and onto his neck. Corvo wipes it away with the back of his hand.  

“It was always here. It will always be here,” The Outsider replies out of view.

Corvo lets his hand linger just a bit longer before placing the parchment back where he found it. He forces himself to swallow the weight in his throat, turning back to where Jessamine rests. 

“I thought I felt her beating slower. Will she be here when…” he trails off, watching his world shimmer and blur before his eyes until he blinks. 

“No, she was never tied to The Void like those who have been Marked.”

Corvo nods in relief, despite the hopeful want for her to somehow, magically, return to him. It’s better she’s not trapped in The Void like him. It’s a kinder ending.

The Lord Protector’s brows, suddenly, pinch in confusion, turning to face The Outsider. “Why are you giving this to me? This doesn’t seem…” Corvo gives an exasperated sound, not sure how to finish the sentence. He twists his lips a bit, before settling with, “Normal.” 

The Outsider looks almost wistful, turning to cast his gaze across the flourishing world created around them. “I offer my gift sparingly and it comes with a high price. Those who are Marked will end in The Void and that has not changed for you. However, your story will always be one worth remembering. It is not uncommon for the reader to pay the author its respects,” The Outsider replies, leaving Corvo with far more questions than answers. He’s not given the opportunity to burrow further into the topic, The Outsider continuing, “Will you accept the gift?” 

Corvo, after a moment, nods, “Yes.”   

The Outsider inclines his head and the chilled fingers return to hold onto him, finding their spots on his ankles up to his head. “Wake up, Corvo. I will find you soon,” The Outsider finishes, dissipating into the blue as he feels himself rise, seamlessly rising through foundation, stone, and, finally, his mattress. 

_“My dear Corvo, this is for you.”_

  “You still asleep?” a voice chides at him, the Lord Protector shifting on the mattress, face scrunching up before he opens his eyes. Emily is perched on his bed, her hair a ruffled mess and still in her nightgown. She’s giving him an earsplitting grin, laughing, “You _still_ make funny faces in your sleep.” Corvo reaches for her hand over the sheets, squeezing it tightly, feeling her, instantaneously, squeeze back.

“Says the girl who snores like a Tyvian bear in her sleep,” Corvo cracks back, Emily sputtering with laughter and denial. 

This really is a lovely gift.

**Author's Note:**

> _Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!_


End file.
